Pumpkin patch to help pay for kids' sports gear

Cory Puopolo hopes to make his Field of Dreams Pumpkin Patch in Matamoras, Pa., a place where dreams will come true for some Port Jervis children.

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By Robert Demono

recordonline.com

By Robert Demono

Posted Oct. 5, 2012 at 2:00 AM
Updated Oct 5, 2012 at 9:39 AM

By Robert Demono

Posted Oct. 5, 2012 at 2:00 AM
Updated Oct 5, 2012 at 9:39 AM

If you go

Beginning Oct. 6, Cory Puopolo will have a pumpkin stand on Pennsylvania Avenue in Matamoras, Pa., outside AutoZone. Pumpkins will be sold there every Saturday and Sunday in October from 10 a.m. un...

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If you go

Beginning Oct. 6, Cory Puopolo will have a pumpkin stand on Pennsylvania Avenue in Matamoras, Pa., outside AutoZone. Pumpkins will be sold there every Saturday and Sunday in October from 10 a.m. until dark.

The Field of Dreams is located at 218 10th St., Matamoras, Pa., with an anticipated opening of Oct. 7. Like the stand, the Field of Dreams Patch will be open Saturdays and Sundays in October from 10 a.m. to dusk. Puopolo also plans to provide free hayrides and a child-friendly corn maze.

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Cory Puopolo hopes to make his Field of Dreams Pumpkin Patch in Matamoras, Pa., a place where dreams will come true for some Port Jervis children.

The 25-year-old college student and aspiring physical education teacher aims to help children of the community by raising pumpkins on farmland in Greenville, N.Y., and creating a pumpkin patch on the Puopolo family property on 10th Street in Matamoras, Pa. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the seasonal gourds is earmarked for children who want to play sports but are unable to afford the equipment.

"I want to make sure that any kid who wants to play a sport is able to," Puopolo said. "I don't want money to be a factor for them."

The idea for raising money by cultivating pumpkins took shape over a year ago, when Puopolo began substitute teaching in the Port Jervis School District.

He says he saw firsthand the effects of a harsh economy and the hardships facing families in the community.

Donating money for athletic gear "would mean one less thing these struggling families would have to worry about," he said.

Puopolo plans to donate at least 35 percent of the proceeds from his Field of Dreams Pumpkin Patch to the children of the Port Jervis area for sports equipment such as football cleats, baseball mitts, basketballs and track shoes. He said he will reach out to the Port Jervis Recreation Department to put him in touch with kids who might need the equipment.

When the pumpkin seeds were planted back in May, Puopolo was aided by the learned hand of his grandfather, Richard Zabowski, who grew up on a farm. Zabowski utilized three of his 1940s Farmall tractors for the project, and has contributed more than 200 hours of labor in support of Cory's cause.

"Getting to work side by side with my grandfather doing something he loved to do made it all worth it," Puopolo said. "These are memories that neither of us will ever forget."

Further helped by the efforts of other family members, community volunteers and local youths hired to work the patch, Puopolo's philanthropic vision has become a reality, his Field of Dreams yielding more than 4,000 pumpkins weighing between 10 and 50 pounds each.

Puopolo continues to commute to East Stroudsburg University, which he attends about 50 hours each week, while devoting most of his weekends to picking pumpkins.

"It's my dream," he said, "that every kid in the community who wants to play a sport will have the proper and safe equipment to do so."

For more information, including pictures of the pumpkin farming process, visit Field of Dreams Pumpkin Patch on Facebook.